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Some of the articles of interest to working mothers that we’ve seen around the web recently…
- New Year’s resolution to clean out your closet? Here are tips from Racked.
- Fast Company looks at three companies who are doing a good job of supporting working moms.
- Mashable thinks about how to get rid of the gender wage gap.
- Working Mother shares some mindfulness exercises for moms feeling stressed.
- At New York magazine’s The Cut, the latest subject of the “How I Get It Done” series is Alicia Glen, deputy mayor of NYC.
- “It’s time for employers to start letting parents bring kids to work,” writes Darlena Cunha at Quartz.
- The Atlantic shares “The Ambition Interviews,” essays by Hana Schank and Elizabeth Wallace about their former Northwestern classmates and what they’re doing now, years later.
- NPR talks to Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, about how schools can support introverted kids. She recently wrote a book for young adults, Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts.
- Also from The Cut, a mom explains “Why New Moms Make Bad Friends.”
- Here’s a good piece from Time that touches on some issues we’ve talked about when discussing the role of the default parent.
On Corporette Recently…
- We talked about New Year’s resolutions.
- We recommended online classes for working women.
- We took a look back into Corporette history.
Anon in NOVA says
The article on the invisible workload was really interesting. It actually helps me articulate what I appreciate about my husband! We split the invisible workload: he does most of the “inventory” worrying (toilet paper, condiments, toothpaste, soap, etc..) and household worrying (friday is a holiday so when is trash day? the patio furniture should be covered before it snows, etc) I do the “is our child hitting this developmental milestone is this daycare the right one is this the best summer camp does he have the purple t-shirt school wanted for next week” worrying. It’s a nice division of mental labor. (I should note this is my SECOND husband and something I intentionally looked for in a partner this go-round)
Also can I just say how excited I was to see the babysitter’s club article on the main page news roundup? WHY DON’T THEY LIVE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD?? I guess actually existing would be a first step
NewMomAnon says
That Quartz article was infuriating in that it focused on children as a women’s issue only; so many of the quotes are about how children in the office might delegitimize women as employees, or cause women’s productivity to suffer. I know that’s reality in our society, but….it’s just so frustrating.
It also scares me – I don’t want the expectation to be that I will bring kiddo into the office when she is sick or school is closed. I want the ability to work from home or not work that day, precisely because it feels unprofessional to me to parent while conducting business. I want the ability to mute the phone when I ask kiddo if she has to go potty; I don’t want to ask her that while sitting in a meeting with a co-worker. I would prefer to not carry crayons or fruit snacks or diapers in my laptop bag.
Anyway….maybe I’m just angry at the way the world works, and not at the article.
Anon in NOVA says
Maybe I’m a horrible feminist but I agree with the conference re: not bringing babies into sessions. This is one of those scenarios where the “slippery slope” argument works. When I have a visceral “that’s unfair!” or “that’s sexist!” reaction to a situation involving children, I try to replace “child” with “aging relative who requires care”. Would you let someone bring their elderly mother who gets confused, speaks out of turn, and wanders off to a conference so they could keep an eye on them? No, it would be unusual and distracting. So the same goes for a baby.
The answer to “women have to worry about this more than men” isn’t “let women bring their kids everywhere”… it’s provide more family leave, affordable childcare options, and a society that is OK with men being equal partners in childcare
Anonymous says
Just anecdotal: My coworkers bring their school-aged children to work maybe 1-2 times a year, but they are all old enough to keep themselves entertained with an ipad, reading, or homework. They quietly ask questions and otherwise aren’t disruptive. It’s actually something that men do in our company occasionally as well, so not just a woman’s issue. I can’t really imagine someone bringing a baby or a toddler into the office without it being disruptive. We do allow for flexible work and teleworking, but sometimes a holiday coincides with a day of an important in-person meeting.
NewMomAnon says
I bring my daughter into the office for a few hours every 3-4 months. My policy is that if I have to bring her to the office, her dad has to provide some child care too on that day; he either has to bring her to his office or take time off of work. Which may be why I was chafing so much at this being viewed as a “women’s” issue.
And it is distracting to have her in the office! I am much less productive! It is unprofessional to have a toddler wiping her nose on your co-worker’s chair or loudly declaring that her butt itches! It would be hugely detrimental to my career if I was expected to bring her into the office (or god forbid, a professional conference) whenever she is sick or daycare is closed. Affordable, flexible, quality childcare and flexible work arrangements are so much more important than allowing children to come to the office.